Online sales - staying safe.

[DaveZ]

Looking at buying a rifle from interstate through one of the online sites, usedguns etc. I know there's risks with the quality of the item when you can't view personally, but I'll just have to deal with that. If you're buying from a private seller, how do you keep your money safe? Bank transfer seems sketchy, I'm not sure if a Paypal transfer has any protection either. Just wondering what people do in these cases to ensure they can get their money bank if the seller doesn't front up the product?

Cheers,
Dave.

[mickb]

Mate others might have better suggestions. I usually ask them to take it into the transferring dealer and I talk to the gunstore to make sure the bloke is alright. Beyond that, you take a punt I guess.

[DaveZ]

Thanks @mickb yeah I figure its going to be a bit of a gamble. I'm not sure that he's not a dealer, not listed as one on the site but has a lot of firearms for sale for an individual.

[Damo300]

I rolled the dice when I bought one interstate. It was under 1k though.

I figured if he's going to commit firearm fraud then he can roll that dice.
Worked out well.
He got his money, I got my gun.

I am pretty sure you can pay the transferring dealer, and they will finalise it all when the gun arrives. Don't quote me exactly on that, but it's along those lines somewhere.